SCAD Generates $1.3 Billion in Economic Impact for Georgia in Fiscal Year 2023

Tripp Umbach study finds SCAD impact was $1 billion for the Savannah area and $328 million for Metro Atlanta

SAVANNAH, GA — March 4, 2024 — The Savannah College of Art and Design's (SCAD) economic impact on Georgia has reached an all-time high, according to a study conducted by Tripp Umbach, the leading national consulting firm for not-for-profit, arts, and tourism sectors. In fiscal year 2023, SCAD generated $1.3 billion in annual economic impact for the state of Georgia, a 70% increase from the last report conducted for fiscal year 2019.

Tripp Umbach analyzed the economic impact of SCAD using the IMPLAN input-output model. Primary data collected from SCAD and the firm's benchmarking databases, developed over 30 years from experience with hundreds of similar studies, found SCAD has a tremendous and overwhelmingly positive influence on the vitality of the economy in the state through jobs, student and visitor spending, large investment into capital projects, operational spending, public events, alumni earning power, public safety, and charitable giving.

"In 1979, 71 students enrolled for SCAD's first academic year. Some 45 years later, SCAD has defied all odds and grown into the world's biggest and best university for creative professions, generating a monumental $1.3 billion annually for Georgia," SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace said. "Equally impressive is this data point: 74,000, the total number of SCAD students and alumni drawn to Georgia from every U.S. state and more than 120 nations to learn at the world's elite university for applied research and invention. SCAD Bees also join Georgia's workforce — in tech, entertainment, design, manufacturing, finance, health care, and more — leading and launching their own startups and providing employment for their neighbors."

SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering 100 academic degree programs to its more than 17,500 students across its locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. The university's mission is to prepare talented students for creative professions through engaged teaching and learning in a positively oriented university environment, positioning SCAD as the preeminent source of knowledge in the disciplines it teaches. Career preparation is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. According to a recent study of Spring 2022 SCAD graduates, 99% were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation.

"Through creative business leadership, innovation, purposeful partnerships, service, and vibrant cultural events, SCAD is committed to advancing the prosperity of the state it calls home," SCAD Chief Financial Officer JJ Waller said. "We commissioned this report to really look at the hard data, and we are proud to see our university plays a major role in fueling the Savannah and Atlanta area economies."

SCAD employs more than 2,300 people and impacts more than 12,000 jobs across the state. Annual state and local government revenue attributable to the presence of SCAD totals more than $51 million. This is revenue collected by the government, in addition to that which is paid directly by the university, and includes taxes paid by employees, visitors to SCAD, and vendors who conduct business with SCAD. The university's festivals, screenings, museums, and galleries, all open to the public and emphasizing SCAD as a community-engaged institution, generate $127 million annually in tourism for Georgia.

SCAD has had a 45-year legacy of giving to the Savannah and Atlanta communities. Tripp Umbach estimates SCAD employees and students generated more than $38.5 million annually in charitable donations and volunteer services across Georgia. The university's SCAD SERVE initiative empowers the SCAD community to listen to the needs of its neighbors and local leaders and to create meaningful design solutions that improve quality of life. In fiscal year 2023, SCAD students, faculty, staff, and alumni worked with more than a dozen nonprofits through Design for Good courses and projects like Paint Our Parks (POP), a public art initiative beautifying basketball courts throughout the state; the university's tree-planting initiative, which has planted hundreds of mature trees in neighborhoods affected by tree inequity; and large food and clothing donations to organizations like America's Second Harvest.

Beyond its architectural and creative influence, the university has helped reduce crime and create safer communities. In fiscal year 2023, SCAD spent more than $14 million on security services in Savannah and Atlanta that benefit local residents, including ShotSpotter technology, thousands of strategically placed public- facing security cameras, and 24/7 security patrols. SCAD was the first university in the U.S. to use ShotSpotter technology and has implemented outdoor sensor technology in downtown and midtown Savannah.

The Tripp Umbach report also highlights SCAD's regional impacts on the university's hometowns of Savannah and Atlanta:

SCAD ECONOMIC IMPACT ON SAVANNAH

For more than 45 years, SCAD has helped change the face and future of Savannah. The university's economic impact on the Savannah area in fiscal year 2023 was $1 billion. This total represents the direct impact of spending in Savannah ($255.1 million) and indirect spending because of SCAD's presence ($744.9 million).

SCAD is one of the largest private employers in Savannah, and alumni have established more than 233 successful businesses in the Hostess City. SCAD's acquisition, restoration, and award- winning reuse of historic buildings and homes throughout Savannah has been a driving force behind Savannah's reputation as a place of architectural and cultural significance. The university's prominent faculty includes industry leaders from around the world who are recruited to SCAD to develop and deliver an innovative and professional curriculum that is recognized globally.

In addition to the nationally lauded, award-winning SCAD Museum of Art, the university enhances the regional tourism in the Coastal Empire by providing many cultural events for visitors. The SCAD Savannah Film Festival, SCAD Fashion shows, SCAD deFINE ART, SCADstyle, and the SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival draw thousands of visitors to Savannah each year.

SCAD ECONOMIC IMPACT ON METRO ATLANTA

In Atlanta, SCAD's economic impact has more than doubled in the past four years. In fiscal year 2023, SCAD generated $328.5 million in total economic impact for Metro Atlanta. This total represents the direct impact of spending in Metro Atlanta ($115.9 million) and indirect spending because of SCAD's presence ($212.6 million). Enrollment at SCAD Atlanta has grown at rapid rates, from 77 students in 2005 to 3,200 in Fall 2023; enrollment rose by 8% for the 2023-24 academic year.

In fiscal year 2023, SCAD opened FORTY FIVE, a state-of-the- art residence hall, academic facility, theater space, and dynamic student life complex. The 14-story tower, totaling more than 556,000 square feet, represents the completion of the final phase of SCAD Atlanta's transformational development project in Midtown.

SCAD is proud to continue its legacy as one of Atlanta's premier cultural destinations with SCADshow, the university's world- class entertainment and performance venue boasting two state- of-the-art theater spaces. SCADshow presents a robust array of programming from signature university events, festivals, and performances, including SCAD TVfest, BAM! Black Artists in Music, SCAD AnimationFest, and more, open to the public year-round.

SCAD Atlanta is a leader and champion of the city's vibrant arts scene and home to the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, which offers diverse exhibitions, films, installations, and performances, inspiring museum visitors from around the world throughout the year. Recent exhibitions include Cristobal Balenciaga: Master of Tailoring; The Blonds: Glamour, Fashion, Fantasy; Ellen von Unwerth: This Side of Paradise; Madame Gres: The Art of Draping; and Christian Siriano: People Are People.

Key findings from the study are included below. For more information about SCAD's economic impact on Georgia and specifically in Savannah and Atlanta, the full report can be found at scad.edu/impact.

Media contacts

JJ Maxwell
Associate Vice President
PR and Marketing
jmaxwell@scad.edu
912.257.6167

Michelle Gavin
Executive Director of Communications
PR and Marketing
mgavin@scad.edu
912.323.5321

Scottie Walden Albertson
Director of Public Relations
salberts@scad.edu
470.637.4161

ABOUT THE STUDY

The economic impact of SCAD was estimated using IMPLAN (IMpact Analysis for PLANning), an econometric modeling system developed by applied economists working in academia and government service. The IMPLAN modeling system has been in use since 1979 and is currently used by over 1,000 private consulting firms, university research centers, and government agencies. The IMPLAN modeling system combines the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis' input-output benchmarks with other data to construct quantitative models of trade flow relationships between businesses and between businesses and consumers. The IMPLAN database contains county, state, ZIP code, and federal economic statistics that are specialized by region, not estimated from national averages, and can be used to measure the effect on a regional or local economy of a given change or event in the economy's activity.

SCAD's total economic impact represents the dollars that are generated within the Savannah and Atlanta regions and the state of Georgia due to the presence of SCAD. This impact includes SCAD's spending on goods and services with a variety of vendors, the spending of SCAD's faculty, staff, students, and visitors, and the business volume generated by organizations within the regions and the state that benefit from the university's spending. To reference the most up-to-date economic impact, SCAD initiates third-party studies every four years. This timing accounts for the typical graduate class cycle.

Tripp Umbach is the national leader in providing economic impact analyses to leading health care organizations, universities, and academic medical centers. Since 1990, Tripp Umbach has completed more than 500 economic impact studies.

SCAD: THE UNIVERSITY FOR CREATIVE CAREERS

SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 17,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 120 countries. The future- minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real- world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university's renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD also has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. According to a recent study, 99% of SCAD graduates in Spring 2022 were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.